Pfizer may drop out of top spot in pharmaceutical sales by 2014

Pfizer Inc., currently the world's largest pharmaceutical company with $48.4 billion in 2007 revenue, could drop to No. 6 in the world by 2014, according to forecasting company EvaluatePharma.

Reuters news service reported this week that EvaluatePharma's forecast of future sales shows Roche Holding AG, based in Switzerland, overtaking Pfizer in global sales in six years.

Reuters reports:

The realignment of the global drugs industry reflects the looming "cliff" of patent expiries, which will see many of the world's top-selling medicines cannibalized by cheap generics over the next five years.

Forecasting company EvaluatePharma, which uses consensus analysts' sales estimates for its calculations, expects Roche to emerge as top dog in this tough new environment, reflecting its strength in fast-growing biotech drugs and its lack of near-term patent risks.

While Pfizer, which operates the largest pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in the world in Portage, may see sales slip substantially with the loss of patent protection for cholesterol-fighter Lipitor and other drugs, the rise in generics could continue the strong growth at Allegan-based Perrigo Co.

Pfizer announced last month that it will cut 275 positions in Kalamazoo County in Kalamazoo County. That follows the announcement late last year that it would eliminate 200 positions here as it cuts costs to remain competitive in the global market.

Pfizer, meanwhile, is still one of the largest private employers in Southwest Michigan, and continues to invest in its operations here, including the consolidation of Animal Health Research & Development to downtown Kalamazoo.